Chris Madel, a Minneapolis attorney who was running as a Republican for Minnesota governor, said Monday that he was ending his campaign because of the national GOP’s “retribution” on his state, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that he described as an “unmitigated disaster.”
“I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so,” Madel said in a video posted to his campaign’s social media channels.
Madel, who announced his candidacy in December as a relative unknown, said he had supported ICE’s originally stated goals of locating and deporting “the worst of the worst” from Minnesota.
“But Operation Metro Surge has expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats. United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship — that’s wrong,” Madel said, noting that he had spoken to Hispanic and Asian members of local law enforcement whom immigration officers had stopped.
He also condemned the reported authorization for ICE agents to raid homes using only a civil warrant signed by a federal immigration officer as unconstitutional.
“Weaponizing criminal investigations against political opponents is unconstitutional, regardless of who is in power. … At the end of the day, I have to look my daughters in the eye and tell them, ‘I believe I did what was right,’ and I am doing that today,” Madel said.
Madel made headlines earlier this month for providing legal counsel to Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who fatally shot Renée Good. In his video Monday, he defended that decision, saying he helped Ross “fill out a form” because “I believe the constitutional right to counsel is sacrosanct.”
The race for Minnesota governor was upended this month after Gov. Tim Walz (D) made a surprise announcement that he would drop his reelection bid in the wake of a welfare-fraud investigation that has drawn the national spotlight.
On Thursday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) filed paperwork to run for governor. She is expected to announce her campaign in the coming days, according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss her plans.
Madel said in his Monday video that his withdrawal from the race was not related to reports that Klobuchar is planning to enter it.
“Believe me, if I could reach into my pocket and pull out the necessary many millions of dollars to run as an independent, I would, but again, reality guides my decision,” he said.
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